Greg In Hollywood chats with first-time Emmy nominee Freddie Smith of “Days of Our Lives”
A lot has happened to Freddie Smith since I spoke to him less than two weeks ago at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles.
This week, the talented young actor who plays Sonny Kiriakis on NBC’s Days of Our Lives received his first Daytime Emmy nomination – a reward for his stellar work on the best gay storyline in soap opera history (sorry Luke and Noah, Oliver and Kyle, Luke and Reid – but these two are more the real deal).
Freddie earned his Emmy nod on the strength of an episode that aired last June 26 during which Sonny is talking to Will’s dad, Lucas, in the town square, and admits for the first time that he has feelings for Will.
‘Will and I are a strong couple right now,’ the actor says. ‘It’s a drama and we have a lot of problems ahead of us but we’re going to work through them.’
Q. What has it been like to be a part of Days first gay storyline?
A. ‘I never imagined that it would be this great. We had expectations but I just really love this storyline from the bottom of my heart. It’s nice to go to work every day and have such a positive impact.’
Q. What has the reaction been?
A. ‘I get more fan mail than I ever imagined in my life I would get and how my work can touch people is unbelievable. I think it’s amazing. The storyline is doing great things.”
Q. What has it been like to work so closely with Chandler Massey as Will?
A. “Him and I trust each other and that’s the biggest thing. Most of our affection is just all improv – it’s whatever we feel in the scene. When I step in to that character, I truly love Will and Will loves Sonny and I think that’s where the chemistry comes from. I’m just happy that us two were able to be paired up to do this.”
Q. Of course complications must be ahead with Gabi about to have Will’s baby!
A. “I’m learning a lot about how I would like to wait to have children. I’m getting to hold a real live baby and it’s just a new chapter in my life. But it’s a lot of fun. It’s interesting.”
Q. Some people say Sonny is too saintly, too good to be true. Do you agree?
A. “Maybe a little. But it’s all how you want to present yourself. Sonny just takes a bad situation and makes it good and that’s how I am in life. If things are going not so well, I try to focus on the positives and make it better. But he is pretty flawless which is kind of fun to play because who is flawless? It’s kind of cool. But he has a couple of problems coming up so it’ll be nice to see him a little vulnerable.”
Comments
(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)
gaelyn tomson says:
I love to see will ask sonny to marry him and will and sonny start a famley together and get marryed and leave happley ever after
Monica Manning says:
Freddie is an awesome actor and he seems like a really nice person, too!
kay says:
I am a fan of Days of our Lives because of the love story of Will and Sonny. I used to watch a few soaps many years ago (20+) but got hooked on DOOL in September 2012 when I saw an article on TVGuide.com about Will and Sonny taking their friendship to the next level and begin dating. I watched the show and was hooked. Chandler Massey and Freddie Smith are perfect in the roles of Will and Sonny. They bring a freshness and a sense of realness to this relationship where the audience can almost sense the attraction and chemistry between these two characters. It is so wonderful to see this story of two people falling in love before our eyes. It makes me believe that there is the possibility of finding your true love and building a life with that person. I am proud of DOOL for creating this storyline and making it as real and true-to-life as possible. Congratulations to Freddie and Chandler on their EMMY nominations. I hope they both win but also take pride in their work and know that they deserve all the recognition and honor because of the talents and hard work they bring every day.
kay hansel says:
Congratulations to Freddie Smith on the EMMY nomination for his work on Days of our Lives. He is a very talented actor who brings life to the role of Sonny Kiriakas. I do not see him as a gay character but as a caring and loving young man living his life in small town of Salem USA. I love the relationship he has developed with Will Horton and that it started out with friendship and developed into love. Freddie makes this character true-to-life and real.
marie says:
I’ll give Days props for pushing the envelope with the Will and Sonny story, but they are not the best couple and don’t have the chemistry Kyle and Fish had nor Luke and Noah. Their relationship feels forced and to be honest, Sonny had more chemistry with Brian than he does with Will. They both have better chemistry with others (such as Will/EJ). Together they are quite boring.
Orville says:
I agree with Marie and disagree with Greg Will and Sonny are the worst gay couple on daytime television. Sorry Greg, but the best gay couple on American daytime television is Kyle and Oliver. The passion, the love and the acting was incredible. I don’t feel Freddie Smith or Chandler Massey have romantic chemistry and I feel it might be because they are afraid of looking gay. The kissing scenes between Will and Sonny are terrible they smash their lips together. Days of Our Lives has also done a terrible job in terms of allowing Will and Sonny to have a passionate relationship. Will and Sonny come across as good friends not as lovers.
Orville says:
I also think Freddie Smith had more romantic chemistry with Brant Daugherty the guy who played Brian. The chemistry between Freddie and Brant was incredible but NBC took the easy way out. Will and Sonny are boring together something is missing they don’t have that spark that romantic chemistry that is critical for a gay couple to reach a wider audience. Will and Sonny come across as a NBC after school special.
Hannah says:
Love Freddie! He always comes across super humble and grateful.
Also have to say I love the Will and Sonny storyline – those two guys have amazing chemistry IMHO and have since the very beginning. Chandler Massey and Freddie Smith do an amazing job with their characters and always have done.